Catherine of Cleves Praying to the Virgin and Child
Annunciation to Joachim

Hours of the Virgin: Matins

Hours of Catherine of Cleves, in Latin
Illuminated by the Master of Catherine of Cleves
The Netherlands, Utrecht, ca. 1440

7 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches (192 x 130 mm)

Catherine's prayer book begins with a bang. The first thing one sees is Catherine herself, praying from her Book of Hours before the Virgin and Child. On the right, the narrative of the life of Mary commences with an angel's telling the Virgin's father, Joachim, that his wife is with child. The many rabbits symbolize the old man's newfound fecundity. In a parallel manner, the borders proudly proclaim Catherine's noble lineage: eight of her ancestors' arms fill the corners of the folios. Her own arms as duchess of Guelders are prominently positioned directly below the Virgin. In a heraldic act of defiance, she surmounts her arms not with her husband's crest but with the ox of her own house of Cleves.

Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows and with special assistance of Mrs. Frederick B. Adams, Sr., Mrs. Robert Charles, Mr. Laurens M. Hamilton, The Heineman Foundation, Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, Mrs. John Kean, Mr. Paul Mellon, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Morgan, Mr. Lessing J. Rosenwald, Mr. and Mrs. August H. Schilling, Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, Mrs. Landon K. Thorne, Mrs. Alan Valentine, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Whitridge, and Miss Julia P. Wightman, 1970; MS M.945, ff. 1v–2r

Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern

Hours of the Virgin

The heart of every Book of Hours is the series of prayers called the Hours of the Virgin. Each Hour is composed of psalms plus hymns, biblical readings, and short phrases (antiphons, versicles, and responses). Ideally, these eight Hours were prayed throughout the course of the day:

Matins and Lauds	at night or upon rising
Prime (first Hour)	at 6:00 a.m.
Terce (third Hour)	at 9:00 a.m.
Sext (sixth Hour)	at noon
Nones (ninth Hour)	at 3:00 p.m.
Vespers (evensong)	in the early evening
Compline	before retiring.

The Hours of the Virgin date back to at least the ninth century. By the late twelfth century, the Hours appeared in Psalters, prayer books popular with laypeople. With a rising economy and the growth of the merchant class, the thirteenth century saw an increase in lay literacy. By the middle of the century, the Hours of the Virgin "spun off" from the Psalter and formed the core of the laypeople's prayer book, the Book of Hours.

The Virgin Mary is, of course, not mentioned in the numerous psalms of the Old Testament that comprise much of the Hours. Framing the psalms, however, are prayers that offer a mystical interpretation of the psalms and reveal the role played by the Virgin in mankind's salvation.

Who Was Catherine of Cleves?

Catherine of Cleves (1417–1476) is known for two things: her Book of Hours and her protracted political battle against her husband. In 1430 she married Arnold of Egmond (1410 –1473), becoming duchess of Guelders. Although she bore her husband six children, the marriage was not happy. By 1440 Catherine refused to live with him.

War between husband and wife was sparked by Arnold's disinheriting his only living son, Adolf (1438–1477; rumor had it that Adolf accused his father of homosexuality). Catherine's siding with her son in the conflict led to anarchy. The cities of Nijmegen, Zutphen, and Arnhem supported Catherine and her son; Roermond sided with the duke. In 1465 mother and son imprisoned Arnold, forcing him to abdicate. Adolf, as duke, spent six years in ceaseless struggles with his father's supporters.

In 1471 Catherine watched in horror as Arnold secured his freedom and regained his title while Adolf was imprisoned. Arnold died in 1473, disinheriting both wife and son. Catherine's death in 1476 robbed her seeing the release of her son. Adolf's liberty was short-lived; he died the next year.